The Man in the Mask
by xxBoppingAllTheWayxx
Summary: Slash:: ::Tryan:: ::One-Shot:: The Evans' Fancy-Dress Birthday Party brings an unexpected present for Ryan.


**Name: **The Man in the Mask

**Author: **xxBoppingAllTheWayyxx

**Pairing: **Troy/Ryan

**Word Count: **_2737_

**Warnings: **Slash, Sexual Content.

**Disclaimer: **All characters are the property of Disney, not my own. Although, if they were, it'd be much more fun!

**Notes: **This may be slightly/very long-winding to read, and thus I apologise. This is the longest story I've written for a while, possibly ever...

* * *

"Happy Birthday, you two!"

As the guests quickly piled into the dance hall, Ryan and Sharpay found themselves showered in gifts and cards from thos that had arrived to celebrate their birthday. The Evans twins were famous for throwing the best fancy-dress parties in living memory, and tonight looked to be no different.

Standing at the top of a grand staircase, the siblings looked down upon their guests, smiling happily as they slowly descended into the throng of party-goers. Sharpay's long blonde hair cascaded downwards, the tips just passing her shoulder-blades, contrasting with the blue lycra found there. The emblazoned logo on the front of her Supergirl costume seemed to shine under the glowing lights of the dance hall, and the short red mini-skirt revealed her stocking-covered legs.

Ryan, on the other hand, was sporting a rich purple ensemble with white and golden trim, with a turban balancing precariously on his head. To complete the genie outfit, Ryan had attached to his belt a golden oil-lamp, which shook slightly as he continued to walk down the stairs.

Music blared around the crowd of dancers as the couples took to the floor and began dancing. Ryan took pleasure in sitting away from the gyrating herd, taking the time to pause and admire the costumes. It was, he decided, an enjoyable experience to know that sharing a birthday with his admittedly more-popular sister meant that people always turned up to their birthday bash.

He was unfazed to see Red Riding Hood engaging in the Macerena with Princess Leia, nor a pirate and a cat sitting in frosty silence after an apparent argument. Making a mental checklist, Ryan ticked off his friends against their costumes, before realising that he was one person short.

Crossing the dance-floor, and bypassing a conga chain of seven Dwarfs, Ryan approached the scarlet-clad Gabriella, and engaged her in light conversation.

"So, where's Loverboy?"

Gabriella turned to face him, slightly unsteady and with a massive grin plastered on her face.

"Ooh, Ryan... so pretty! You are, yes, you are! If I rub you... heehee... do I get wishes?" The clearly-drunken girl placed her hand on Ryan's waistband, before the genie grabbed her wrist and pushed her hand away. He turned quickly to Kelsi, the girl's brown hair tightly curled into the icon side-buns hairstyle of Princess Leia.

"Hey, Ry! Happy Birthday!"

As she kissed him on the cheek, she slipped a piece of paper into his hand, then gave him a wink to ensure his secrecy. With a quizzical look, Ryan watched as the Princess led the intoxicated Fairytale heroine off of the dance-floor. He looked at the piece of paper in his grip; a folded note with his name scrawled on the outside.

Opening it, it took several moments for Ryan to decipher the scribbled handwriting and, even after working out what the words were, he failed to grasp the meaning of the message. He glanced around the room, seeking Kelsi for clarification, failing to locate the secretive songwriter.

' _"Bathroom?" _' Ryan thought to himself. '_What's that all about?_'

Several ideas flew through his head simultaneously, blurring all sense from discerning sight, as he realised the only way to truly understand the meaning of the message was to bite the bullet, and explore the bathroom.

Stopping momentarily between the boys' and the girls' bathrooms, Ryan paused to think about where it was he needed to go. True, he was male and therefore inclined to visit the male facilities, but the note had been given to him by Kelsi, whom was certainly all woman.

'_If the message __was__ for me, then it __must__ mean the boys' room._'

Having now decided upon his destination, Ryan pushed open the oaken door leading to the guys' bathroom. The yellow lights flickering above him cast a sickly glow over the pristine urinals and the gleaming hand-basins, yet Ryan could see nothing out of the ordinary. Turning on his heel, Ryan aimed for the door but stopped dead in the tracks.

His path was blocked by a shadowed person that Ryan couldn't really identify. The man wore a tight-fitting black tuxedo, with a white frill collar visible beneath it, but that wasn't his most distinguishing feature. On his face was fixed a deathly-white mask which shielded half of his visage from sight. Ryan, always the musicals fan, recognised the entire ensemble as a Phantom costume from the operatic Broadway blockbuster.

The man's uncovered face, however, was still hidden by an eerie shadow, and Ryan still had the compulsive urge to step away from him. The man took a single stride forward and raised his gaze, allowing light to shine upon his lightly-tanned skin.

"Troy?" Ryan's voice sounded incredulous as his heart continued to hammer in his chest. The yellow light had indeed revealed the Phantom's identity, yet Ryan still gazed at the man with a sense of trepidation. "What are you doing?"

Troy gave a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders and surveyed his surroundings. "Nice place..."

"Yeah," joked Ryan, "just the sort of place for holding clandestine meetings." His voice turned serious, yet maintained a conspiratorial edge to it. "It _was_ you, right? You gave the message to Kelsi?"

Troy looked nervously at his feet, a guilty smile gracing his lips. "Are you mad?"

The birthday boy stopped for a moment. He had been slightly pissed off when he thought that Troy didn't care enough to come to the party, and he had been very frustrated by the impossibly-vague note, then terrified beyond belief when he first saw the costumed Wildcat. Three powerful emotions within the space of a couple of minutes... Mad? He wanted to punch Troy!

"I'm fine," lied Ryan, rather unconvincingly.

"Well," started Troy, "maybe if I gave you a birthday present, it'd be an accepted form of sorry."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Ryan raised an eyebrow at the mild arrogance of the basketball student and rolled his eyes. Despite everything, however, Ryan had to admit that he secretly quite enjoyed getting presents, as opposed to watching his sister get them all.

"We'll see, Troy. We'll see."

Troy smirked then stuck out his tongue at the unimpressed boy, before issuing a command. "Close your eyes, and hold out your hands."

Despite severe reservations, Ryan did as he was asked. He gingerly held his hands out in front of him, palms upturned, and closed his eyes with a sigh. Before he could process it, he felt Troy's hands clasp his, and Troy's lips brush gently against his own.

Ryan's eyes flew open, and he opened his mouth in protest. Troy, ever the opportunist, took the chance to deepen the kiss, his wandering tongue bravely going where no Wildcat had been before. Feeling the vibrations before hearing the actual noise, Ryan registered that Troy had emitted a guttural moan.

Suddenly coming to his senses, Ryan pushed Troy away, dislodging their lips from each other and disentangling their hands. It only now hit him that Troy was still wearing a mask, paper-white in stark contrast the the rose-pink of his one visible cheek.

"Happy Birthday..."

Looking more pissed off than ever, Ryan glared at Troy before walking past him and exiting the bathroom. It dawned on him instantly that they were lucky not to have been caught by a guy eager to us the facilities, and he mentally chided himself for getting so caught up in the moment.

Hiding in the group of people on the dance-floor, Ryan watched as Troy emerged from the bathroom and began to mingle with the costumed guests. As the Phantom gave the ethnic pirate a high-five, Ryan felt a twinge of jealousy whilst observing their close companionship, before the twang began to steer towards nausea.

Without thinking about it, Ryan left the dance hall and stood outside in the night air. In his peripheral vision, he could see Kelsi holding Gabriella's red hood back as the sound of retching filled the air, doing nothing to quell Ryan's feelings of sickness. He wrapped his arms around himself, his bare biceps cold as the night breeze chilled him, and he took this opportunity to walk around the building.

From afar he could hear running footsteps, and Ryan had a sinking feeling that he recognised the rhythmic sound as linked to one particular person, and quickly ducked into the shadows, pressing himself against the stone wall. He watched in silence as a dark figure passed him, slowed to a walking pace before stopping not far from where he was hidden.

"Damn."

Ryan recognised the voice as belonging to Troy, and would've rolled his eyes had he not heard the sincere tone of sadness that tainted the breathy utterance not seen the defeated droop of the shoulders. All was silent for a minute until Ryan suddenly heard it...

Troy was crying. He was desperately trying to keep the sound down to a minimum, but he was definitely sobbing, and it seemed so out-of-character that Ryan felt compelled to stop it. He pulled himself out of the shadows, approaching Troy, his costume sandals causing the underfoot gravel to crunch loudly.

Troy removed his mask, and turned to face Ryan, his gaze strong but saddened. Fidgeting with the white half-mask in his hands, the Wildcat dropped his gaze to the floor before speaking, his voice taut and constrained.

"I saw you leave, thought you'd be cold..."

Ryan invaded Troy's personal space, standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with the boy as he placed a hand on his chin and forced Troy's eyes to meet his own. This small act of contact began to rekindle the flicker of emotions that the pair had felt earlier in their make-out session, yet both boys felt strangely self-conscious, neither wanting to make the first move.

Despite himself, Ryan shivered, proving Troy's concern to be well-placed, and Ryan melted into the close hug that Troy proffered him. In an attempt to warm up the blonde boy, the Wildcat ran his arms up and down on Ryan's bare skin, stopping when he heard Ryan giggle.

"What's so funny?"

Ryan bit his lip momentarily, stalling for time as he tried to articulate the words in his mind, but he eventually gave Troy a grin. "Three wishes, those are the rules." He gave a little flourish with his arms, amused at the thoroughly confused look upon the brunette's face. "You rubbed the Genie, you get three wishes, remember?"

Bemused, Troy nodded and grinned. He already had a good idea of what he intended to wish for, scheming to back the blonde into a corner as he manipulated this turn of events. "I can wish for anything?"

"Anything." Ryan repeated, causing Troy to gulp at his tone of voice. He sounded husky, unfamiliar, and it took a second or two for Troy to fathom out the tones of despiration and lust evident in the unusual manner of speech.

"Okay... one wish... You."

Ryan, far from surprised, looked around first for anyone else before, satisfied that he was alone with the Wildcat, planting a chaste kiss upon Troy's lips. As he pulled away, he raised an eyebrow expectedly and gauged Troy's reaction as he whispered a single word. "Granted."

Surprised and emboldened by the willingness that Ryan had displayed, Troy let out a whispered _wow _under his breath as he came to terms with the evening's events. He heard voices gathering close and, taking Ryan's hand in his own, turned to see Kelsi half-carrying Gabriella down the path.

"I... thought she needed some air. I didn't mean to... interrupt or anything..."

Kelsi carried on walking past with the inebriated Gabriella, catching Ryan's eye as the blonde boy grinned sheepishly. She gave him a small wink before vanishing into the night, leaving both boys somewhat embarrassed at being discovered.

Ryan felt an arm drape over his shoulders and, turning his head to face Troy, looked into the Wildcat's sky-blue eyes, feeling a flutter in his heart as he did so. Regardless, a small pang of doubt sentered his mind and he opened his mouth so as to start to speak.

"Troy--"

"I love you, Ryan." Troy interrupted, discarding manners in favour of making crystal clear his feelings for the blonde boy. "I always have and I always will."

His eyes widened as he took in the meaning of Troy's words, and Ryan let out a little giggle. Without saying anything, he placed his hands on Troy's waist, leaning in for a kiss. As their lips connected, he threw his weight to the side, pulling the brunette with him, and Ryan felt himself backed against the wall with a very horny basketball player grinding into him.

"Give me my present, Troy."

Ryan's voice had dropped to a sultry whisper, and Troy had to strain to hear the demand. The twin tilted his head for better access, leaning forward to capture Troy's earlobe between his teeth, teasing it with a gentle gnaw before slowly tracing the shell of the ear with the tip of his tongue.

"Give me a birthday that I'll never, ever forget."

No sooner had the words been drawled out of his lips, Ryan felt Troy's hands on his waistband, unfastening the Arabian buckle on the belt, and pressed his hips forward into the groping, wandering hand that had slipped under his shorts and was now massaging him through his silken thong.

Troy's nimble hand finally got past the thin waistband of Ryan's underwear and, with the final hurdle now passed, wrapped around the ready organ that awaited him. A slight whine escaped Ryan, followed by fast-paced and high-pitched breathing. Ryan was close.

Troy dropped to his knees, pulling Ryan's shorts and thong down to the ground, thankful that they were shadowed in the darkness. His hand gripped Ryan firmly and moved faster, with his eyes making contact with Ryan's own, baby blue meeting chocolate brown as a hundred silent emotions basked in that silent connection.

Ryan bit his lip and turned his head upwards, letting out a moan as he hit his climax, with Troy showing no signs of slowing as his hand continued to pump, receiving a facial treatment that would make cosmeticians throw their hands up in horror. A moment or two passed, the only noise being Ryan's heavy breathing while Troy tidied Ryan's costume and got to his feet.

A chuckle left Ryan as he took in Troy's sticky, but pleased appearance and was about to make a cocky suggestion when Troy surprised him yet again. Placing the mask over his face, fixing it in place with Ryan's release, the brunette grinned as the mask stuck to his face perfectly.

"You wouldn't... you can't..." Ryan began, before Troy shrugged.

"Who's going to know?" Using his finger, Troy scooped up what mess hadn't been hidden by his mask, and licked his digit clean. "Besides, I want to remember this."

"I'm not likely to forget it." A small laugh, followed by Ryan biting his lip again.

Troy placed a chaste kiss on Ryan's cheek, whispering that they'd better return to the party so that he could give Sharpay her present. Ryan stopped cold, letting Troy walk a few paces before realising. Instantly, the Wildcat was back at his side, looking worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Her present... is it the same as mine?" The downside of being a twin, Ryan knew, was that people tended to buy you identical presents. There was no way he wanted to share Troy with anyone, least of all his promiscuous sister.

Troy let out a loud laugh at Ryan's question, totally oblivious to the genuine concern displayed on the dancer's face, before sobering himself up and smiling. "She's got earrings. Damn expensive ones too!"

Both boys grinned, all tension totally dispersed as they walked hand in hand back into the dance-hall, friends and lovers. Ryan felt himself grin as people prided Troy on his remarkable choice of costume, and he caught Sharpay's surprised look as she noticed their entwined hands.

'_She may have jewelry,_' thought Ryan, '_but I'm the one with the gem, this time._'

Squeezing Troy's hand slightly, Ryan knew that this really was a birthday that he'd always remember.

* * *

_  
I typed half of this out many months ago, then had to wipe my PC, and only now have I had the time to retype the full story. It's been bouncing at the back of my mind for ages now, so hopefully I've exorcised this literature ghost._

_Apologises if the difference in writing styles between the first half and the second half is noticeable or distracting._

_Joey ~x~_


End file.
